The news of Linde being knighted spread throughout King's Landing the next day, and many people felt immense envy and jealousy at Linde's good fortune.
One must know that many warriors are still seeking opportunities to become knights, seeing no hope at all, yet now a fifteen-year-old boy has been knighted just a few months after becoming a knight's squire, and by His Majesty the King himself. This made them wonder if Linde was the illegitimate son of some great noble, and not just a hunter's son as the hunter of bears song claimed.
Not only did ordinary warriors envy Linde's change in status, but even the free knights and mercenary knights participating in the martial arts tournament were incredibly envious of Linde, because after becoming a knight, Linde had a liege lord to pledge loyalty to, becoming a sworn knight of House Tyrell. This meant that Linde would not only have a fixed salary, but also that Linde would have the opportunity to become a landed knight, or even a minor lord, in the future.
However, when they learned that Linde had actually refused His Majesty the King Robert's invitation to join the Kingsguard, all their envy and jealousy towards Linde disappeared, replaced by ridicule of Linde's foolishness. They clearly believed that Linde, being from the countryside, did not understand the significance of the Kingsguard and missed a chance to rise to prominence in one fell swoop.
Nevertheless, Linde was still the object of countless people's envy, and could even be said to have become an idol for commoners. His experience could be called a legend. The bards quickly re-edited the hunter of bears song, extending the story to the Red Keep knighting, and then repeatedly performed it in taverns, making a fortune.
The name Bear Hunter Lind and the legendary stories in the song also began to spread to other parts of the Seven Kingdoms with merchants traveling to and from King's Landing, and even showed signs of spreading to Essos across the Narrow Sea.
However, Linde, as the person involved, appeared very calm. The change in status did not alter his daily habits. He still took his cavalry to train in the outskirts of King's Landing the next day, still trained Glory's hunting ability and obedience, and after returning to the camp, he still studied various subjects with the new Official arranged by Duke Tyrell, his time fully booked.
In the afternoon, the heraldry Official from King's Landing came to House Tyrell's camp, found Linde, and asked about Linde's family crest design and family name.
Linde had already thought about these things, so when the heraldry Official asked, he immediately gave the answer.
His crest was simple: a red background with the main design being a sword plunged into the ground. The only special thing was that the pommel of the sword was a Chinese character 'Li', which was his surname in his previous life, and the knightly surname he thought of was Terra.
The heraldry Official did not expect things to go so smoothly. According to past experience, new knights usually needed to think for several days before deciding on their crest design and surname. Moreover, most knights did not choose their own surname, but rather adopted the surname of an extinct noble family, seemingly wanting to make their own family appear to have a long history.
After recording the crest and surname, the heraldry Official prepared to leave, but Linde called him back and asked, "Don't you need to record the family motto?"
The heraldry Official looked at Linde, said nothing, and left, his eyes looking as if he was looking at an idiot.
Although the heraldry Official did not answer, Linde knew that he seemed to have made a fool of himself, and he understood that there would probably be many more such jokes in the future, until he truly became accustomed to the noble conduct of this world.
The knightly jousting tournament continued that day. Compared to yesterday's quietness, today's audience numbers had increased, almost returning to normal levels. Not only were the open spaces on the hills around the martial arts tournament field completely filled with people, but some even climbed trees to get a clear view of the duels on the martial arts tournament field.
The reason why the audience numbers became so large was that the excitement generated by the team martial arts tournament had settled down after a day, and everyone needed new excitement, and the knightly jousting tournament became the best substitute.
In addition, compared to yesterday's knight duels, today's knight duels were clearly of much higher quality and much more intense, because those knights of average skill had already been eliminated yesterday. The knights who could still stand on the martial arts tournament field today could be considered the elite among knights, so the knightly jousting tournament was also more exciting.
For example, Jaime Lannister the Kingslayer had a jousting duel in the morning. His opponent was a mysterious knight from the Narrow Sea, and the two exchanged blows seven times, breaking three lances, before Jaime narrowly won.
The splendor of this knightly martial arts tournament even made the surrounding audience forget the Kingslayer's bad reputation, cheering for him after his victory.
Fotimo's knightly duel also took place in the morning. His opponent was a knight from the Marbrand family of the Westerlands. The battle process was not as intense and exciting as the Kingslayer's. The two had a huge disparity in strength, and Fotimo unhorsed his opponent in one round.
However, in the afternoon's martial arts tournament, Fotimo had bad luck and encountered Barristan the Bold. After two rounds, he was struck in the chest by a lance and fell off his horse, fortunately without serious injury.
And among the knights of House Tyrell participating in the martial arts tournament, only one advanced to tomorrow's quarterfinals. This person was Jon Bulwer from the Bulwer family of Black Crown City. He was the third son of Earl Bulwer and currently served as the third Official to Ser Roger Redwyne in Highgarden.
The reason Jon Bulwer was able to reach the quarterfinals was not because of his strength, but because of his incredibly good luck.
Jon Bulwer's strength was only slightly better than that of an average knight. If there were no accidents, he should have been eliminated yesterday, but interestingly, his opponents along the way either unexpectedly lost due to problems with their equipment, or voluntarily withdrew due to previous injuries. As a result, Jon Bulwer became one of the eight finalists in the knightly martial arts tournament without any scares or even much effort, and he also earned the nickname Lucky Bulwer.
However, for House Tyrell, having only one person advance to the quarterfinals, and in such a cunning way, made them feel somewhat disgraced, especially Mace Tyrell's expression, which had been gloomy ever since Fotimo's defeat, making everyone around feel the oppressive atmosphere.
Fortunately, this oppressive atmosphere did not last long. After Duke Tyrell was invited by Jon Arryn to a meeting at the Red Keep, his gloomy expression completely vanished upon his return, and a smile was constantly on his face.
Afterward, Duke Tyrell also gathered his vassals and held a meeting in the camp, seemingly discussing something important.
Although Linde was also very curious about what Duke Tyrell and the others were discussing, the area around the tent was guarded by the Duke's Guard, so he could not get close, and he had more important things to do.
Linde sent Raul to inquire about the best blacksmith shop in King's Landing. In the evening, Raul found out the relevant information and then took Linde into King's Landing.
The two went directly to Steel Street at the foot of Visenya's Hill. Because the martial arts tournament had damaged the weapons and equipment of many warriors and knights, the blacksmith shops in the Steel Street area became prosperous. The scorching forge fires had not extinguished for several days, and the noisy hammering sounds enveloped the area. Even people who lived there permanently could not stand the noise and chose to live in nearby towns for a while, returning after the excitement died down.
Raul led Linde to a blacksmith shop much larger than the others. This blacksmith shop was built of wood and stone, with a layer of white lime plaster on the surface. The ebony and weirwood doors looked thick and sturdy, and its three-story height allowed one to overlook the entire Steel Street.
However, upon entering the blacksmith shop, Linde frowned, because compared to the bustling work scenes of other blacksmith shops, this one was deserted, and even the furnace fire had not been lit.
"Is this the best blacksmith shop in King's Landing you found?" Linde asked suspiciously.
Raul showed an embarrassed expression, then somewhat annoyed, he shouted loudly into the shop, "Is anyone here? Is anyone in the shop? We have customers."
Linde looked around and was quickly attracted by a row of knightly Greatsword hanging on the wall.
After shouting a few times, Raul saw an old man, supported by a servant, walk out from the back of the shop.
The old man looked at Linde and Raul and said grumpily, "We're closed. If you want anything forged, go to other shops."
"Are you Colin Mort, the best blacksmith in King's Landing?" Raul looked at the old man somewhat confusedly and asked.
"Once the best blacksmith, as for now..." The old man laughed self-deprecatingly, "Do you think I can still lift a hammer now?"
Raul's face immediately darkened, and he cursed the person who gave him the information under his breath.
"Can I try them out?" Linde, who was standing by, suddenly pointed to a few knightly Greatsword hanging on the wall and asked the old man.
The old man was stunned, then nodded and said, "Go ahead and try! If you want them, I can give you a discount, as these weapons will be cleared out soon anyway."
Linde reached out and took down the two knightly Greatsword he had favored, then walked to the large open space in the house specifically for testing swords, and began to wield them according to the swordsmanship of the Lost Country Knight.
Just as he had thought, the memories he had fused were not only on a spiritual level, but also integrated into his body's instincts. The two knightly Greatsword felt completely familiar in his hands, and his sword movements flowed smoothly, as if he had been using them for countless years.
While Linde was testing his Lost Country Knight swordsmanship and the knightly Greatsword, the people in the room were all stunned.
Raul had previously been Linde's sparring partner and had seen Linde perform his dual-sword swordsmanship countless times, but at that time Linde used hand-and-a-half swords, and the dual-sword swordsmanship he performed was still within the understandable range. Even Raul could see that what truly made the swordsmanship powerful was Linde's footwork and his grasp of weaknesses.
However, the dual-sword swordsmanship Linde was now employing had already transcended the limits of normal humans. He wielded the two knightly Greatsword as easily as if they were daggers, and as his sword movements danced, they even created a wind pressure around him. Moreover, this wind pressure carried a hint of sharpness, making him, even outside the Greatsword's range, feel as if his face was being cut by a knife, his exposed skin faintly aching, and some of the hairs on his head even broke off after the wind pressure formed by the sword movements blew past.
It was no exaggeration to say that he felt the dual-sword swordsmanship Linde was now employing was ten times more powerful than before, and he also believed that if Linde had used this dual-sword swordsmanship on the martial arts tournament field a few days ago, Linde could have directly used a head-on approach to cut down all the participants on the spot.
If Raul, who was very familiar with Linde, was so surprised, the blacksmith shop owner and his servant were even more dumbfounded, completely speechless.
As the blacksmith who forged the knightly Greatsword, Colin Mort knew how heavy a knightly Greatsword was. Even the most powerful knights could not wield it with one hand, yet Linde was now holding a knightly Greatsword in each hand and easily performing never-before-seen exquisite swordsmanship as if he were holding two blades of grass. Especially, he was even able to leap into the air with two such heavy knightly Greatsword and perform various slashing movements. This physical quality and the powerful swordsmanship he displayed completely surpassed his common knowledge of so many years. He even had the illusion that a monster of immense strength lived inside Linde.
After briefly performing the basic swordsmanship of the Lost Country Knight, Linde stopped. It was not because he didn't want to perform other swordsmanship, but because other swordsmanship required the cooperation of the extraordinary power granted by Dragon Rune and Dragon Feast Ritual to be used, otherwise it would only be an extension of basic swordsmanship.
After stopping, Linde looked at the knightly Greatsword in his hand with satisfaction. Although these two knightly Greatsword were not Valyrian steel swords, the material and weight of both swords were good, making them suitable as temporary replacement swords.
In addition, he also re-recognized the changes that the Dragon Feast Ritual had brought him.
If it had been before, his physical strength and physical fitness would not have been enough for him to wield the knightly Greatsword so easily, but now, after performing a complete set of basic swordsmanship, he still did not feel tired, and did not even breathe heavily.
It was clear that his physical fitness was transforming towards a non-human state, and this change had not stopped. Until the effects of the Dragon Feast Ritual completely disappeared, his body would continue to slowly change and strengthen. He was not sure to what extent it would eventually strengthen, perhaps even possessing the power to slay dragons like some Lost Country Knight in his memory.
"Who are you?" At this moment, Colin Mort, who had recovered from his shock, couldn't help but ask.
Before Linde could answer, Raul, like a qualified Official, took the initiative to introduce him, "This is the champion of the team martial arts tournament, a knight personally knighted by His Majesty the King, Lord Bear Hunter Lind Terra."
Hearing Raul's introduction, Colin Mort and his servant couldn't help but gasp, staring at Linde in astonishment, and their eyes, besides being filled with shock, also contained a sense of awe.
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